FOR ALL THE PLAYERS, WITH WHOM WE SHARE THE SAME PASSION -

DIGGY’S ADVENTURE! PIXEL FEDERATION IS CELEBRATING ITS 12TH

BIRTHDAY, AND ON THIS MARVELOUS OCCASION, WE WOULD LIKE TO

PRESENT YOU THE VERY FIRST E-BOOK,

DIGGY’S ADVENTURE: EGYPTIAN TALES!

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page, so make sure to always start from the bottom right corner. Keep calm, and dig in!

This publication is Intellectual property of PIXEL FEDERATON, s.r.o.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, altered, or otherwise used without PIXEL’s express written permission.
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his was the day which was about to change his life forever. Our brave
archaeologist Diggerius A. Diggerson was digging through a tunnel,
when his pickaxe suddenly hit an unknown object: “Eureka!”

As he was removing more and more soil, it was clear that there are more metal
pieces, and that they were once assembled together. Unbeknownst to Diggerius,
these parts belonged to a robot called Rusty. What mysteries can this ancient
artifact unravel?

Diggerius put the metal parts in his backpack and took them home for further
examination. Few days later, the robot was finally in one piece, and its metal
heart finally came to life. The only piece of information Diggerius managed
to extract from Rusty was an old Egyptian map leading to a mysterious stone
tablet, but some parts were missing. Time to set out for an adventure!

No matter how skilled an archaeologist may be, he always needs sidekicks.

Diggerius managed to find a girl that was adventurous enough to accompany
him on his way to Egypt. Linda was a young lady with her head high in the
clouds, dreaming about a life full of excitement and thrill. But it was not enough,
as every expedition also needs someone practical, meticulous and hard-working.
Johnny seemed to be the right candidate for the job. A perfect match!

The voyage through sea was long and exhausting. Never-ending torrential rain,
and raging sea waves battered the ship from each side, and the crew started to
lose hope. After few days of relentless battle with the forces of nature, the sky
finally cleared up. Diggerius slowly crawled to the bow of the ship, and yelled
with excitement: “I see shore ahead of us! We are finally here!”

At long last, our crew had arrived to Egypt, a land of deserts and oases, shrouded
with mysteries of every kind. Johnny did not hesitate and started to build a
base camp, and Linda soon found herself swamped with various assignments
and everyday tasks. This did not look like a holiday at all! One day, Linda was
walking on the beach, when she suddenly noticed a very strange cat. It seemed
that the cat was luring her to that very spot. After few steps, the cat suddenly ran
away – it appeared that it was sitting on a small tablet in the sand.

The tablet was one of the missing parts from Rusty’s map, and it led Mr. D to an
ancient tomb…

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or the first time in his life, Diggerius had a subtle feeling of fear. He had
opened many graves and visited plethora of forsaken temples, but this
tomb was different.

He lighted the torch, and ventured deeper into the underground. One would
expect that every wall in an Egyptian temple should be full of hieroglyphs, but
the corridors were ominously empty. Suddenly, the torchlight illuminated a small
wall full of unknown symbols. Diggerius scratched his beard: “Hmmm, these
are no hieroglyphs! Very strange, these symbols do not make any sense…”

He quickly opened his pocketbook, and noted down the whole writing on the
wall to the last letter. Three heads are better than one, and maybe Linda or
Johnny would be able to crack this puzzle open! Unfortunately, the rest of the
group was clueless as well, and Diggerius started to feel that getting to the
bottom of this mysterious text was the only way forward.

Diggerius had never been a patient man. Always on the move, no turning back.
This feeling of uncertainty kept growing on him every hour, and one day, he had
made an important decision. He needed to continue on his own, and bid farewell
to his companions. Diggerius left some instructions for Linda and Johnny, and
promised to return back as soon as possible. The winds of destiny had blown
him far away from their safe Egyptian camp…

Hot and dry Egyptian days were followed by long nights in the oasis, and Linda
started to get worried. Weeks had passed, and there was still no message from
Diggerius! What if he got lost? Did he pack enough clean underwear? He was all
alone in the desert, what if something bad happened to him?

If there was one sport Linda excelled at, it was jumping to conclusions. On the
other hand, Johnny seemed not to care at all. He got quickly accustomed to the
local culture in the nearby town, and his interest in the expedition had slowly
started to wane. One day, Linda found Johnny in the town, talking to a snake
charmer, smiling like some kind of a loon. That was the last straw for her, as
she seized Johnny by the collar of his fancy flannel shirt: “Enough idleness and
talking to strangers, it is time to act!”

After some deliberation, Linda got a splendid idea. Who would be more willing
to give a helping hand in these hard times than Diggerius’ own son?

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Diggy was a bright young man, who loved adventure more than anything else.
Although he did not usually accompany Diggerius on his expeditions (you know,
Mr. D being overprotective and stuff…), Diggy learned a lot about archaeology
and geography through all these years of growing up with his intrepid father.
Maybe he could be the one to find out what happened to Diggerius! Linda
immediately wrote a letter to Diggy and asked him to come to Egypt as soon as
possible.

Fortunately enough, the apple never falls far from the tree, and Diggy heeded
Linda’s call for help. Just like his father, Diggy knew that the sea voyage would
be very difficult, and he did not want to go all alone. If there was one guy
suitable for this expedition, it was the Professor.

The Professor was an elderly man, whom Diggy had known for many years.
Don’t get it twisted – although he seemed to be very frail, he was a very smart
fella, and a recognized scientist. Not long after he had received the letter from
Linda, Diggy boarded the ship with Professor and Rusty (yes, dear reader –
Diggerius is quite apt not to remember things, and he forgot to take Rusty with
him…), and set sail towards Egypt.

Unfortunately, the sea gods did not favor our heroes at all, and the ship got
caught in a terrifying sea storm. After few long days of battling the waves,
Diggy finally caught a glimpse of a shore. As they were approaching it, the ship
went out of control and crashed into the mainland. The hull tore apart and Rusty
flew out of the deck. His mechanical body did not endure the impact and split
into multiple parts.

After they had landed, Diggy heard somebody shouting. The voice was familiar,
so he looked around and saw Linda and Johnny running towards him. She
welcomed him with a warm hug, but Diggerius’ greatest discovery seemed to be
in a state beyond repair.

Desperate situations need a cool-headed approach, and a well-organized person.

Professor was one of those guys, always ready to save the day.

He set up a plan of tasks for Diggy – first of all, it was necessary to find the
remaining Rusty’s parts, and to reassemble him. Second, our heroes were still
strangers to this vast land. This is why Diggy was to find a map of Egypt.

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he die was cast. Diggy and Linda ventured deeper into the mainland
to look for the map of Egypt. They soon found another temple with
the gates wide open.

Diggy lighted the torch and stepped forward. The map has to be somewhere
around here! As they were walking through the corridor, they suddenly spotted
a sarcophagus in the darkest corner of the tomb. How come that it had been left
untouched until now?

Diggy was a little bit hesitant, but Linda simply did not wait. What followed
seemed like the worst nightmare! A strong flash burst out of the sarcophagus and
filled the entire tomb with dazzling light. When they finally opened their eyes,
they saw a terrifying figure floating above them. It looked like a man with a
canine head. Linda gasped in astonishment: “Anubis!”

The Egyptian god looked at the intruders and barked: “Who dares to enter MY
tomb and wake up the guardian of the Underworld? And who stole and broke
the sacred plate pieces?! All of Egypt will soon feel my wrath!” Diggy grabbed
Linda and both dashed out of the temple. At that time, they were not aware of
the consequences, and of the terrible curse which was unleashed upon the whole
Egypt…

Professor was really not pleased with the outcome of their small expedition, and
urged Diggy to visit the Luxor City to find the priest of Anubis, as it was the
only way how to soothe his temper. The priest was not a chatty one, and gave
Diggy another grave news - not only did Diggy unleash Anubis’ curse on Egypt,
but he also awakened other Egyptian gods. All of them were quite mad about the
plates!

There was only one way out of this. Diggy grabbed his shovel, and started to
look for Anubis’ missing plate pieces. Fortunately, his efforts soon bore fruit,
and the jackal god seemed quite pleased with all of the pieces being safely
returned to him. But what about the other gods? And where to find them?

Just as Diggy was trying to look for another god and lift the curse, Diggerius
was already deep in the desert, thinking out loud: “I need to leave some kind of
a trace, so others can follow my steps if something happens to me…” Just on the
other side of the river bank, a man with glasses was silently eyeing him…

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inding and appeasing all other Egyptian gods was a monumental task,
but Diggy still needed to find the missing parts for Rusty. One day, as
he was digging near a pond of water, he unearthed a strange piece of
papyrus with full of ancient symbols, similar to the ones Diggerius had found in
his first Egyptian tomb. Could Rusty know more about them?

Professor did a splendid job, but only managed to carry out some very basic
repairs on Rusty. Diggy gave the papyrus to him, but Rusty’s voice module
seemed to get stuck on a very first sentence, as he only kept repeating: “Hi, I’m
Rusty!”

Professor frowned: “Diggy, I still need you to find his missing parts. Without
them, he’ll make better use at a scrapyard than here! Why don’t you check the
nearby Muffin Factory? I mean, there are still some machines to be found,
right?”

The Muffin Factory was standing just outside the Luxor City, but it seemed it
had been out of order for years. Luckily enough, Diggy recovered some gears
and nuts from the machines for the Professor. Few hours later, Professor came
out of the tent and nodded at Diggy: “He is ready!”

Diggy showed him the papyrus, and Rusty took a hard look on it. His robotic
voice started to echo through the tent: “The curse has not been lifted-BEEP-Isis
is furious-BEEP-look for her priest-BEEP!”

Diggy found Isis’ priest in the Luxor City. Clad in a carmine robe, his voice was
soft, but firm: “Isis is the goddess of nature and magic…and I have never seen
her to be that angry before! Someone broke her tablet pieces as well, and her
servants managed to find and return all of them…except one. Now she keeps
ranting about it in her temple. Go check a small cave outside of the city, I heard
some fishermen whispering about strange noises coming from there!”

The small cave really stayed true to its name, as it was really tiny in comparison
to other large tombs Diggy went through. He grabbed his shovel and pickaxe
once again, and soon found the last plate buried deep in the underground water
reservoir. Time to get back to Isis, and save the day!

11
The Temple of Isis was a mesmerizing place, honoring the beauty and elegance
of the goddess residing inside it. Diggy found Isis floating above the ground
in the middle of a large temple hall. He presented her the missing plate piece,
and could see the relief in her eyes: “Ah, my missing plate. The tablet is now
complete, as it is supposed to be! But this is not enough – I cannot lift the curse
looking like this! Quickly, fetch me something that can make me even more
beautiful. We can talk about the curse then. Chop-chop!”

If there was one thing Diggy did not like, it was being ordered around. But this
was not a time to feel offended – he quickly swallowed his pride, and found
some beautiful looking jewelry in the adjacent Temple of Eternal Beauty. Isis’
eyes started to shine as she put on the last jewelry piece: “Ah, that’s much better!
Alright then, I shall lift the curse for you, but be careful what you wish for,
young adventurer…”

The curse was finally lifted, but that last sentence from Isis was very puzzling.
What did she mean by that? Diggy could not wrap his head around it, and did
not even notice that he entered the bustling Luxor City market. The poignant
smell of spices were mixing in the air with even more poignant odors, but Diggy
chose not to investigate its source. A sudden desperate cry started to reverberate
through the market: “My son! My poor little son!”

Where was it coming from? Diggy rushed through the crowd, and found two
parents calling for help – it was the Sneferu family. Mr. Sneferu quickly grabbed
Diggy by his arm: “Adventurer! We have heard about your brave deeds and your
kind heart. Please help us! Our son got lost, and he is nowhere to be found!”

Diggy searched through the entire marketplace, but to no avail. Suddenly, a

quick thought stopped him: “Hm…if I were a small kid, where would I go and
play? It would definitely be something adventurous!” Diggy noticed a tiny old
clay pit behind the last market stand. His instinct did not let him down – the boy
was safe and sound, playing with rocks, unaware of the panic and desperation he
had caused.

It was after he had returned the child to the Sneferus when Diggy noticed
another strange thing. In the middle of the market square, there was a huge stele
and a painting of an unknown god with a falcon head. On the very bottom of the
stele, there was a small inscription: “Look for me in the Arachnid Lair…”

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he Arachnid Lair…its name sounded quite forebodingly, and Diggy
was desperate to find this mysterious place. Could the mystery hidden in
the lair lead to lifting the curse of another god? And why the falcon head?

Every Luxor citizen Diggy approached with this question shivered, and lowered
their voices. Nobody was willing to talk about it. Finally, one old man leaned
to Diggy and whispered to him: “Lots of foul magic has been happening at that
place, young one. I will tell you where to look for it, but tread lightly!”

Diggy followed greybeard’s instructions, and soon found himself in front of a

large wooden gate. The guard standing in front of it was frowning: “Halt! One
more step and I’ll show you what this spear is worth! The supreme Ruler of the
Luxor City has forbidden the entry to this place, so you better turn back and
walk away!”

Why would the Ruler of Luxor ban the entrance to the lair? What evil is lurking
there? Diggy headed towards the royal palace. If the Ruler is really hiding
something, he has a lot of questions to answer! The royal residence was a huge
building, luxurious and full of courtiers, soldiers and servants. One of them
stopped Diggy on a balcony overlooking the Nile: “Where do you think you are
going? If you are supposed to have an audience with the Ruler, then this is really
not the best time. His only daughter, the Princess of Luxor, has been very sad
lately, and nobody knows why. Cheer her up, and the Ruler will reward you, I am
sure of it! You will find her in the monastery nearby.”

Princess’s bitter cry echoed through the whole temple. As she spotted Diggy
approaching her, she started to cry even more. Diggy was quite shocked: “Your
Highness, I am here to help you. What happened? Has anybody done something
bad to you?”

Princess quietly sobbed: “Love sometimes really hurts, Diggy. I really like our
new gardener, Amasi, and I know he feels the same way about me. But my
despotic father is against it, and gave Amasi an arduous task he cannot possibly
complete. I am afraid he will never approve of our relationship. Help my dear
Amasi, and I will make sure you will get what you need from him…“

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Diggy found Amasi in the corner of the palace gardens. The soil there was dry
as a bone, and Amasi did everything he could to plant some flowers and trees,
but to no avail. It was an insurmountable task: “Diggy, I have tried everything,
but no plant I know can take its roots here. I heard about a magic fertilizer which
could help, but I cannot just leave the premises – the Ruler would whip me for
insubordination!”

Diggy recalled some villagers talking about some Underground Gardens and
bags of fertilizer being stored there for years. He entered the small cave entrance,
and soon emerged with a hefty bag. It really worked like magic! The plants
slowly started to grow, and the dry palace corner was lush with vegetation.

For the first time in months, the Princess finally smiled: “I owe you my eternal
gratitude, Diggy! The task is now done, and hopefully I will be able to persuade
my father that Amasi is the right one for me! Here, I got you the thing you were
looking for in the Arachnid Lair!”

This mysterious thing was nothing else than another tablet piece, dedicated to
the same falcon god Diggy had seen on the stele before. It was Horus, the ancient
Egyptian god of kingship and sky, and Diggy soon found him in his temple,
leaned over a game of tic-tac-toe. It seemed that his mind was somewhere else,
and accepted the plate with a slight nod: “Alright, alright, you want the curse
to be lifted? Then so be it. I have a bigger fish to fry right now, since somebody
stole my precious eye…be gone, before I change my mind!”

Done, and done! The curse of Horus was lifted, and now was the time to find the
next god. As he was walking on the beach, Diggy noticed a beautiful young lady
playing on her cittern. It was Siti, the famous musician and singer, practicing for
her performance at the international Papyrus-stock festival.

Apparently, Siti’s lovely tunes attracted more listeners (Diggy has immediately
noticed Linda spying on her from the distance), but there was one strange
looking person just standing by, watching him closely. It was the priestess of
Sobek, the ferocious crocodile god of military: “I have been looking for you,
adventurer. Sobek is furious about his missing plate piece, and you seem to be up
to this task! Look for his temple at the Nile river, and fulfill your destiny!”

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ust few steps along the river bank, a grumpy guard was leaning on his
spear, looking at Diggy talking to Sobek’s priestess. Just as Diggy was
about to leave, he waved and beckoned to him: “C’mere, lad! I saw you
talking to this croc lady, and I might know something about this dusty plate
piece you are looking for! But nothing is for free, and I am starving here. Once
upon the time, there was a nice Muffin Factory, and they made the best muffins
in Egypt, I swear! But nothing lasts forever, and it closed down years ago. Ever
since then, nobody can even come close to the quality of muffins they used to
make there…bring me some nice tasty muffins, and I will tell you where to look
for the plate piece!”

That was quite a weird situation. One factory shuts down, and suddenly there is
no one who can make good muffins? Johnny and Linda might know someone
in Luxor, and get Diggy what he needs! All of this time spent among Egyptians
finally proved to be useful, as Johnny indeed knew a young aspiring cook called
Jane. She was not a local, but moved to Luxor after she had finished studies
at the famous culinary institute in Thebes, under the supervision of Gordon
Ramesses himself.

Unfortunately, Jane had just received a huge order coming from the Ruler’s
residence, and did not have much time for Diggy: “Muffins, you say? Yes, I can
make them for you, and berry muffins are my specialty! Hm…wait a sec…on the
other hand, I heard that apple muffins are great as well, Gordon loved them! So
which ones do you want?”

Diggy’s expedition companions were suddenly not helpful at all. Johnny was
already dreaming of taking some of the apple muffins for himself, whereas
Linda preferred refreshing sour taste of berries. A calm and sophisticated debate
about fruit suddenly turned into a fervent argument, and Diggy started to lose
patience: “Aargh, enough! Let’s flip coin and be done with this! *CLINK* There!
Berry muffins it is! Jane, can you please make them as soon as possible? I am
quite in a hurry!”

Jane retorted: “No can do, mister! I need to finish this huge order for the Ruler,
and then we can talk about the muffins. Besides, you are among the guests as
well, didn’t you get the invitation? The princess and that gardener are having a
wedding today! Oh…and…can I be your plus one?”

17
Among all of this hustle and bustle, Diggy completely forgot he was supposed
to show up at the wedding – after all, he acted as a perfect wingman in this love
story! Every living soul in Luxor gathered in front of the residence to cheer the
happy couple, and Diggy was one of the guests in the large summerhouse just
outside in the palace gardens. The bride looked stunning (as usual), and Amasi
seemed like the happiest guy in the whole world. May they live happily ever
after! As soon as the wedding was over, Diggy rushed back to Jane, and picked
up a big tray of delicious berry muffins. The guard was not grumpy anymore,
and gobbled up each and every one of them. Few minutes later, he was already
enjoying the state of postprandial somnolence, and gave Diggy a small stone
tablet of Sobek. Splendid! Now, let’s go to the temple on Nile!

On his way to Sobek’s sanctuary, Diggy was forced to chase away some
aggressive crocodiles with his torch. As he was approaching the temple, the Nile
water started to ripple, and Sobek emerged from its depths: “Who managed to
get through my crocodiles?! How dare you to…oh! You got my last piece of the
tablet! That’s fantastic! Lifting the curse? Sure thing, consider it done, and stop
by every time you need!”

That was one friendly crocodile indeed! Diggy could not believe it all went
so well with him. He got back to Luxor late at night, and immediately noticed
something strange – no clouds in the sky, no wind blowing, just an ominous
silence. Suddenly, a shadowy figure walked from one of the tents and purred:
“Adventurer! Words about your deeds are travelling fast, and my servants have
already told me about you and Sobek. I am the priestess of Bastet, and she also
wants me to look for the tablet pieces she is missing. Help me out, and you will
be amply rewarded! Start with that weird guy on the other side of the market, he
might be up to something. I’ll just wait for you here, and get some nice glass of
cold milk – you know, munchies!”

The weird guy actually turned out to be a mummy, and his name was Vladimir:
“Greetings, friend! Finally a friendly face willing to talk to me. I do not want
to take your precious time, but can you just please listen to my story how I got
here? Please, I have not talked to anyone for ages…”

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Vladimir seemed to be a profoundly sad and depressed person. Egypt was full of
mummies, but why was this one called Vladimir, out of all other more Egyptian
sounding names? Diggy wanted to know more about him: “I would be happy to
hear you out, dear Vladimir!”

Vladimir adjusted his linen bandages, took a long deep breath and started: “I came
here as an exchange student from Russia. Ever since I was just a small linen ball,
I wanted to see Egypt, and get to know my distant relatives. I quickly fell in love
with the local culture and customs, even the embalmers were so kind to me! One
day, I was hanging out with my friends in our dormitory, and I asked them to give
me the access to Wi-Fi, so I can call my folks back home. But instead, they thought
I said mummify! How can you mummify a mummy, which has already been
mummified? So I had to go through it all again, and they threw me into a dark,
musty coffin! Is that who you would call a friend?

Luckily, I managed to escape, and here I am, walking the streets of Luxor, lonely
as a cloud! I am looking for a friend, but I have not found any comfort in a fellow
human/mummy soul. I was always very fond of cats, and I saw several of them
wandering around one particular grave in the nearby graveyard. Can you please
bring me just one small kitty, so I can have somebody to share my pain with? I
cannot go alone, I am too afraid somebody would bamboozle and mummify me
again. Can you imagine being mummified for a third time?! I can’t!”

Was that a tear in Diggy’s eye? Vladimir was not sure, but Diggy quickly got back
to his senses: “Say no more, Vladimir! I will get you a cat, so you can be happy
once again!”

The Pet Cemetery was a dark place, full of idle cats, as well as cats who had
already lost all of their nine lives. Their ghosts were floating above the graves,
looking at this intruder who just entered the cemetery premises. Diggy quickly
chased and fetched a small kitten, and was just about to turn back, when he noticed
a small stone tablet on the bottom of one shallow grave. Bastet was already waiting
for him outside of the cemetery, as if other cats had already reported this finding to
her: “You have decided to help a poor soul, and put his misery above your task…I
am truly impressed. My curse shall be lifted, and no more harm will come to
Egypt from me!”

Vladimir was struggling to hide his natron tears as Diggy brought him the kitten:
“You are a true friend, Diggy! I cannot thank you enough.” Mission completed!

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iggy’s next steps led him to the Luxor University District. As he was
walking around the campus, he noticed a strange pair, apparently pointing
fingers at him. Some unknown force was drawing him to them, as they
kept staring and whispering. The man in the green cape had a very dry, raspy voice:
“At long last! My name is Virides the Rogue, and the priestess of Thoth has been
looking for you. We might know where to find her master, as it is obvious that you
need to lift his curse as well. But first, we need to test you a bit! You are just coming
from Bastet, so tell us: what instrument did she hold in her hands?”

Diggy looked firmly into his eyes, and answered without any hesitation: “It was
a sistrum!”

Virides’ facial expression turned into a rather devilish grin: “That is correct. You
have proven yourself worthy to me, but one swallow does not make summer, as
getting one correct answer does not mean you can meet Thoth right now. He is
the ancient Egyptian god of many things, but he is most notable for being the
master of the mortal and divine law, ancient god of balance, all works of science,
philosophy, religion, magic…”

Diggy did not like this guy at all. Does he mean business, or is he just pulling
his leg? After a long while of naming all of Thoth’s accomplishments, Virides
finally got to the point: “…and he is also the god of scholars and scribes. Whoa! I
think a got it all. Anyway, look for a large purple tent, another task is waiting for
you there!”

On the way to the tent, Diggy noticed a small group of young students gathered
around a blackboard. The man next to it was the Professor himself, explaining
some basic geometry principles: “No, no! I am talking about the right angle,
as in geometry, not about your right to angle in a nearby fish pond! By Thoth,
you guys have not studied for the test at all…oh! Hey Diggy! Great to see you
again, I hope you are doing well with lifting the curses all over Egypt. By the
way, some lady was looking for you, and she has just entered that tent across the
road…”

Diggy started to walk towards the purple tent. Just few steps before the entrance,
a sudden yell stopped him: “No further! You don’t need to see my face,
adventurer! I bet it was Virides who sent you here. He is a con man, nothing
more! But where was I…my name is Madame Bunefer, and I know where you
can find the missing plate pieces for Thoth.

21
I have noticed you have become friends with the Princess, but be careful – her
father is a very dangerous man, poised to expand his collection of artifacts with
various plate pieces. He does not care at all about the Egyptian people, or their
suffering. Remember the Horus pieces the Princess brought you? He would never
have given them to you, if it weren’t for her daughter. There is only one way how
to appease Thoth – best the Luxor Ruler in his favorite game, and he would have
to give you the Thoth tablet pieces. He is too proud not to acknowledge defeat.”

Ready to face his new assignment, Diggy ventured back to the Ruler’s residence
in the very heart of Luxor. Alas, the gate was locked, and the guard in front
of it looked even grumpier than the one before: “Entry forbidden! There is an
international craps tournament underway, and I am not to let anybody inside the
building!”

Diggy quickly retorted: “Tell the Ruler that I have come here to challenge him in
the game of craps! If he is so sure of his skills, he will not turn me down!”

Diggy had already had the guard’s curiosity, but suddenly he had his full
attention: “A challenger you say, hm? Well, you will regret the day when you
have made this decision. Follow me!”

The Ruler secretly admired Diggy’s bravado, and the game of craps soon
commenced. Much to his surprise, the game was over after just a few dice casts.
Unbeknownst to him, Diggy’s CV included multiple summer jobs at the casinos!

The Ruler was devastated: “Although it is hard for me to admit it, the victory is
yours…but I am a man of my word, so name your price!”

Few hours later, Diggy showed triumphantly the last plate piece to the priestess
of Thoth: “I think it is time you take me to your master…”

Thoth was even more impressed than the priestess: “I don’t know how you have
done it, but you have really showed your worth, adventurer! I knew that the
Ruler might have been hiding something from me, but I just could not prove it.
The curse shall be lifted then, and as a token of my gratitude, I will introduce
you to someone who might be of interest to you. At the end of the day, you still
need to lift few more curses, am I right?”

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iggy had never fully realized how beautiful Egypt was, until Thoth
took him to his favorite oasis. Everything seemed to be perfect – lush
green groves, and the so-called River of Miracles peacefully flowing
just behind the hill. A true sea of tranquility among all of this chaos.

Thoth seemed to be happy as a clam, and he even took more of his servants
with him to enjoy this beautiful sunny afternoon. After a short walk, the scholar
god stopped and turned to Diggy: “This is where I leave you, adventurer. The
priestess of Maahes enjoys the nature here as well, and I think it is time you talk
to her. You might be of a great use to her. Farewell!”

The priestess of Maahes was already impatiently waiting for Diggy: “Hey there!
The weather is just wonderful, isn’t it? Okay, enough small talk! I am a servant
of Maahes, an ancient Egyptian deity of protection, weather and war. I heard that
you are the one who woke up Anubis, but I also see that you are doing your best
to right the wrongs you have caused. But if you think that you need to look for
the plate pieces, save your breath – I have already found all of them!

Maahes wanted to lift the curse immediately, but I persuaded him to wait a bit,
as you need to pass few trials first. Let’s start with something easy – make sure
to help some local villagers, and I will take you to Maahes personally!”

Why would the priestess make such a fuss about some local villagers? Never
mind, if there is somebody who needs help, Diggy will come to the rescue!

It did not take long until Diggy found the first villager in dire straits. Just outside
the oasis, there was a beardy man with an orange turban, running around and
screaming at the pair of camels. The animals seemed not to care at all, and the
man suddenly approached Diggy: “Do you know anything about camels? My
name is Osama, and it is my first day at work. I am supposed to pick up some
tourists, but the camels simply won’t move! Are they broken? Are they tired?
I don’t get it, they were just fine a minute ago! At this job interview, they even
asked me what do the camels store in their humps, but I couldn’t give them any
answer. Is it water, or fatty tissue?”

Diggy started to laugh: “Don’t worry, Osama! They are probably just resting,
and they have fatty tissue in their humps. They will be fine, and you will be fine
as well!”

24
That seemed to calm Osama down: „Thank you so much, adventurer! And
while you are here, can you please check on that old guy over there? He is quite
confused..”

It was the Professor again, but he was even more nervous this time: “Oh, I am
so glad you found me, Diggy! I took my students for a small field trip, and
everything went well. I was just about to call them for lunch, but the Sneferu kid
is missing again! He always wanders off somewhere, can you please find him?”

Diggy found the young Sneferu back in the oasis, sobbing quietly at the river:
“Hey Diggy, I wanted to finish my homework somewhere in the shade. Just as I
was about to be done, a huge crocodile appeared out of nowhere and stole it from
me! Please help me, otherwise the Professor will give me a really hard time!”

At first, this really sounded like the lamest excuse ever. But little Sneferu was
right, as one of the crocodiles had a piece of papyrus stuck between his jaws.
Diggy grabbed a stick, and a fierce battle for homework commenced. Few
minutes later, he managed to wrestle it from the crocodile, and brought the
slightly chewed up papyrus to Sneferu: “Thank you, Diggy! You saved my day!”

The priestess of Maahes was watching all of this from the distance with a smile
on her face: “Well done, Diggy! You have passed your first trial, so let’s go to
meet my master!”

Maahes was really not in his best mood, and quickly snapped at Diggy as he
was approaching him: “I see you two got me my plates, and that you have helped
some of the villagers. Now you need to complete several tasks from me. First,
I need you to visit the nearby smithery, as I have tasked the metallurgist there
to craft me the most powerful cutlass in the world! But he is quite late with the
delivery – talk to him, and get it for me!”

Diggy met the metallurgist outside of his workshop. He was a rather short, but
muscular man, wielding his hammer in the right hand just as he was making
some finishing touches on the cutlass: “Did Maahes send you? Yes, I just needed
to make some final adjustments. You know, you don’t make a weapon for a god
every day…”

25
26
D
iggy could not wait to find out about his next task. What trials did
Maahes prepare for him? They went together to a small zoo outside of
Luxor, and Diggy was getting more and more confused. Does the lion
god want him to take a day off?

Unfortunately, it was not the case, as Maahes presented the next task to him:
“This arrogant Ruler decided to open a zoo, would you believe it? No living
animal deserves such thing, and I am furious about it! On top of that, he
imprisoned one of my brothers, and I heard he is getting quite delusional in his
cage. He keeps blabbering about some monkey, a parrot, a warthog and some
meerkat! Free him, before it is too late!”

Diggy snuck into the zoo, and found the lion talking to one of the walls of his
steel prison: “ROAR! ROAR! At least I can still say that, not like the other guy
who was here before. It was a dark horse, and the guards forbade him to say his
name, because of some copyright infringement or something…I don’t know what
that means, it makes no sense! Aargh!”

It was clear that the lion would not last any longer in his prison. Diggy quickly
unlocked the cage, and guided him out of the zoo. The priestess of Maahes was
waiting for them near a small settlement: “Splendid! Our brother is free at last!
Okay, one last task to complete, and Maahes will lift his curse. Rumors of a
great beast terrorizing the nearby village are spreading like wildfire, and they are
putting the blame on Maahes! Find it, tame it, and prove the people that Maahes
has nothing to do with this!”

Diggy searched through the entire village, but found only a couple of stray dogs.
Not one terrifying monster in sight. After a while, Diggy stumbled upon a large
cow skeleton – inside it, there was a cute looking pink cat. Could this be the
monster the priestess was talking about? Maybe the dogs were afraid of it, and
the people thought it has to be a real threat!

Maahes was quite surprised when Diggy brought him this alleged perpetrator:
“So this is the mythical monster everybody was talking about? These people…
unbelievable! You have completed all of my tasks, and I intend to uphold my part
of the deal!” Out of a sudden, Maahes’ cutlass engulfed in flames – his curse was
finally lifted!

27
Just as he was about to leave, the priestess of Maahes leaned to Diggy and
whispered something in his ear: „Your quest is far from over, adventurer! Look
for the priest of Ptah, his temple is not far from here. But beware, as you will
experience things you have never seen before!“

What did the priestess mean by that? And why would the next task be so much
different from any other previous quest?

The priest of Ptah was already waiting for him outside the temple: “I knew
you would come to me, it was written in the stars! There is a way how to get to
my master, but he is residing in another realm…to meet him, you will need a
valerian root, but it is extremely rare around here. One thing I know for sure is
that it grows in Europe, but I do not know anybody from there! That’s it from
me, you will need to figure it out by yourself!”

A Valerian root? But where to find somebody who knows more about it…wait…
Vladimir! Diggy started to look for him, but he was suddenly nowhere to be
found. Luckily, the Sneferus came to help this time: “Hey Diggy! If you are
looking for that suspicious mummy, go further to the west – I think we saw him
and his cat companion wandering around!”

The Sneferus were right, and Diggy soon heard a muffled sobbing in the distance
– Vladimir was crying once again: “Oh Diggy! I have finally found out why am
I so sad…I need a girlfriend, a true mummy-mate! Yes, I know that Valerian is
hard to come by, but I brought some with me from Russia. Help me, and I will
give you enough of it, so you can visit Ptah!”

Diggy was no matchmaker, but knew that there was a new phenomenon in Egypt
– dating steles. He quickly carved Vladimir’s name onto one of them, and soon
found a perfect match for him. It was a young blonde mummy called Khensa,
and she immediately fell in love with our Vladimir. With his head high in the
clouds, Vladimir reached into one of his linen pockets, and gave Diggy a handful
of dried Valerian: “Bring it to Jane the cook, she will know what to do with it!
And thank you for everything!”

Jane gladly prepared a tray of Valerian muffins, and Diggy fell asleep instantly…

28
29
D
iggy was not really sure whether he was dreaming or not. He found
himself lying on the ground, and Ptah was standing next to him: „So
you made it, adventurer! Somehow you found the way how to get to
me, and I can already tell you are worthy of me lifting the curse. But before I
do that, I have a small task for you – climb up the hills around us, and find me a
snake which looks exactly like my staff!”

Diggy slowly got up and muttered: “Snakes…why does it have to be snakes!”

The green hills of Ptah’s realm were swarming with reptiles and insects the likes
of which Diggy had never seen before. After a while, Diggy entered a cave in the
hill called Scaly Serpentines. At the very end of it, a large blue and yellow snake
was sleeping next to a stone jar: “There you are! You look just like Ptah’s staff!”

Ptah was very pleased: “Yes, you have found the correct snake! The curse is now
lifted, adventurer! All of the gods appreciate your effort, and I have to say, I like
you! Now, return to the human realm, and look for the green meadows. You will
find the priest of Hathor there…”

The sun was shining high in the sky and the cows were slowly wandering
through the meadows. Unfortunately, despite this beautiful day, the man with a
pink hairdo frowned as he was observing them. Why was he looking upset? Was
the pink color an answer to all of these questions?

Diggy slowly walked up to him: “I feel that you have the information I am
looking for. Why are you so grumpy?” The man retorted: “Hathor made me to
dye my hair pink! Would you believe it? After all, I am her priest and servant,
but still, she is only doing this because she is not in a good mood!” Diggy was
confused: “Why would she do such a thing? Seems that she is really not happy.”
The priest sighed: “One day, she came to me and said something about the plate
pieces. She wants me to find all of them, but this is not a task which can be
solved with a snap of a finger. You seem like a capable guy, can you help me?”

30
Suddenly, Diggy noticed a familiar face coming towards him. It was his old
friend, gardener Amasi. The gardener greeted Diggy with a smile on his face:
“Hey Diggy, I overheard your conversation with Mr. Pinkman here, and I can
show you where to find these plate pieces! But I could really use your help right
now. I want to cheer up my princess and make a short poem just for her, but I am
really not good with words.”

Diggy realized that this can be the fastest way to the plate pieces, but composing
romantic poems is not an easy thing to do. He stared into the distance for a
while, wheels in his head rumbling and turning.

Suddenly, he burst into laughter. I’ve got it! Diggy turned to Amasi and said:
“Roses are red, violets are blue, I love you so much, nothing but true!” Amasi
was jumping for joy: “That is amazing! Diggy, you saved me once again! Come
with me, I will show you where to find the pieces!” With Amasi’s help, Diggy
soon uncovered all of the pieces for Hathor. Now it’s time to meet her face to
face!

Hathor was impatiently waiting for her loyal servant to appear: “What takes
him so long and where are my plate pieces?” As she was looking around, she
spotted a bright yellow helmet approaching her. Diggy mustered up his courage,
his voice calm but firm: “Mighty Hathor, the Great One of Many Names, I have
brought you the plate pieces you were looking for. Please accept these tokens and
lift the curse you have unleashed upon all of Egypt!”

Hathor’s answer roared through the vast meadows: “I don’t know you,
adventurer, but you have proven yourself by bringing me the plate pieces.
However, you are foolish to think that I will lift the curse just like that! My
sacred cow has wandered off, and she is nowhere to be found. I guess my priest
cannot wrap his pink head around this task, so I need you to find it. Bring it to
me, and the curse shall be lifted!”

Diggy remembered that he saw a similar animal on the meadow where he met
the priest of Hathor. As he was walking through the grove near this pasture, he
spotted a set of two horns with a pink disk in the middle. Diggy gasped: “Holy
cow! This is the animal Hathor needs!” In the last rays of the setting sun, Diggy
lured the sacred cow back to Hathor. The curse was lifted!

31
After he had returned from Hathor’s meadows back to the city, Diggy heard
about mysterious disappearances of citizens. The people told Diggy that
somebody was waiting on him in the desert, next to a small temple buried in the
sand. Who could that be? Maybe another harbinger of bad news?

The folks were right - there was a priest waiting for him, but this one did not
look like any other priest Diggy has met so far. His head was covered with a
black mask, a pair of glowering red eyes looking at him. The priest welcomed
Diggy with his gravelly voice: “Greetings, adventurer. I am a servant of Set,
and right now, he is not happy at all. The Ruler of this pathetic city has been a
thorn in my master’s flesh for a while. But this time, he has decided to break
and scatter his plate pieces all over Egypt! This is why my master sent me to
unleash his wrath upon the citizens, and he will not stop until all of the pieces
are returned to him!”

Diggy sharpened his shovel and pickaxe, and was resolved to leave no stone
unturned until he finds all of the lost people. Maybe the missing guys can be
found in the places dedicated to Set himself?

Diggy ventured into the darkest dungeons, explored Set’s tombs and empty
asylums, and waded through the stinky marshes and sewers. Luckily, Diggy’s
assumption was correct - he soon found all of the citizens, and every one of them
told him where to look for the missing plate pieces.

Soon after, Diggy emerged from a small burrow with a last piece in his hand,
smiling as he was looking at the glowing tablet. The people of the city are
safe and sound, and Set can finally have his plate pieces! The priest of Set was
observing him from the distance with a cunning gleam in his red eyes...

The Egyptian gods were on Diggy’s side, and the desert wind had led him to a
small plateau. Set was already waiting for him there with an elegant golden staff
in his hand. Although the sun was shining brightly, Diggy felt that the air around
Set was full of thick darkness. Before he was able to say anything, Set took the
charge with this thundering voice: “So, you have finally made it, adventurer! I
knew that my servant was right about you! Thanks for all of the pieces you have
found, but..”

32
Diggy has subtly rolled his eyes and thought in his head: “I really cannot catch a
break here. There is always a hitch hidden somewhere!”

Unaware of Diggy’s train of thoughts, Set continued: “...but I am not willing to

lift the curse right now. I mean, you have surely noticed that I really don’t like
this Ruler of the city, but there are more powerful enemies I have had quarrels
with. Horus is the one I disdain the most! I am the god of chaos, disorder and
violent storms, and he thinks he can match my power. I gouged out his eye long
ago, but he got it back somehow, and I am sure that this falcon is laughing at me
somewhere in his fancy temple! Bring me back his eye, and I will think about
lifting my curse!” Diggy shivered as he was listening to the dark god: “So it was
Set who stole the eye from Horus! Poor falcon god! But there is no turning back
now…”

Under the disguise of the darkest night, Diggy snuck into the Temple of Horus
to find the eye for Set. He felt a bit guilty for doing such a thing, but this was
simply a matter of the utmost urgency! The eye hovered on a bedside table,
while Horus was meticulously counting the sheep in his dreams (yes, even the
ancient gods have to sleep). The sun was already high in the sky when Diggy
got back to Set, waiting on his plateau in the desert. The ancient Egyptian god
was pleasantly surprised, although he did not reveal his joy in front of Diggy. Set
accepted the eye without a single word, and grudgingly nodded to lift the curse.

On his way back to the city, Diggy was feeling a strong inner wave of relief
– all of the ancient gods’ curses are lifted and the people of Egypt are saved!
Suddenly, a violent storm broke out – it looked as if some supernatural force was
trying to drive Diggy and his friends out of Egypt.

How to get out of this place? Their ship was no longer able to carry any
passenger across the raging seas and the camels were not really interested in
crossing the desert in this torrential rain. As he was approaching the city walls,
Diggy noticed a guy with a thick brown leather cap and rather funny goggles.
Wait, he looks like...a pilot?!

33
Maybe it was just a sheer luck and maybe it was the hand of destiny, but this
man was really a pilot. He greeted Diggy with a smirk on his goggled face:
“What’s up? I am Parachute Perry, and I heard you are lookin’ for a pilot! I
mean, your professor pal is a real piece of work, he kept muttering about some
curse being lifted and he insisted that we have to leave Egypt right away!” Diggy
was amazed: “I have not even talked to the professor and he already knows what
needs to be done! Thanks for your help Perry, but I suppose we cannot leave this
place right now, this storm is relentless!”

Perry’s smile got even wider: “Well, the professor has an answer to that as well.
He wanted me to tell you that only one of the ancient Egyptian gods can dispel
the clouds and fend off the storm! I think his name was Soot, or Swathe...” Diggy
blurted out: “You mean Set! I need to get back to him at once!”

Set was not happy at all to see this cheeky adventurer again, and he was very
vocal about it: “What?! You again? Lifting my curse is not enough for you and
your lot? How dare you little…oh wait, I have forgotten to dispel the clouds…all
right, all right, and be gone before I change my mind!”

Set pointed his staff into the skies and a ray of light tore through the gloomy
clouds. It looked as if someone just waved a magic wand all over Egypt – finally,
the sunlight found its way through the clouds!

Diggy gathered professor, Linda and Rusty, and the gang met with Perry in front
of a sandy runway, just outside the Luxor City. But what about Johnny? Diggy
turned to Linda: “Have you seen him? We need to leave as soon as possible!”
Linda seemed not to be surprised or worried at all: “Oh, Johnny! Last time I saw
him, he told me he wants to extend his vacation a bit. You know him, he likes it
here very much! I think he will be A-Okay, we do not need to wait for him!”

The pilot was ready to embark on yet another adventure: “So, just the four of us,
huh? Oh, you want to take the robot as well? Okay, just put him into the trunk.
All right, let’s recap – air plane check, petrol check, working devices check,
teddy bear check…we are ready to depart!” Diggy looked at professor with a
questioning glance and whispered: “A teddy bear?” The professor answered with
a confused shrug.

34
The machine they were about to board to leave Egypt did not look like anything
Diggy expected. It was a blue biplane and it surely remembered many days of
old. Reluctantly, Diggy sat next to his friends, while Perry was cranking up the
propeller.

At long last, the plane gathered enough speed and its wheels lifted off the sandy
Egyptian soil. As they started to rise further to the skies, Perry turned back to
the crew: “I should have probably asked beforehand, but what is our course?”

Perry’s question was justified and striking at the same time – in all this turmoil,
Diggy was not so sure where should they continue with the search for his lost
father.

Luckily, Professor was one step ahead of them again. He quickly reached out to
one of his pockets and handed Diggy a small piece of paper: “As I was looking
through all of the artefacts you have recovered, I have discovered this. I think
it will set or next course for good!” Diggy slowly opened the small note and
gasped: “Scandinavia!”

35